HARARE (Reuters)
- Zimbabwe has raised $120 million in a last-minute bid to avoid expulsion
from the IMF, leaving analysts wondering on Thursday where President Robert
Mugabe's cash-strapped government had secured the funds.

Zimbabwe
announced the payment to the International Monetary Fund late on Wednesday
ahead of an IMF meeting in Washington on September 9 to discuss the possible
expulsion of the southern African country for a total of $295 million in
unpaid arrears.

Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono told the official
Herald newspaper on Thursday that Zimbabwe -- mired in its worst economic
crisis in decades -- had raised the funds from foreign exchange within the
country.

"This is a modest payment meant to demonstrate our sincerity
with respect to our international obligations," Gono said.

Gono said
the payment was raised from exporters, who are required to sell part of
their foreign exchange earnings to the central bank at supervised auctions,
along with inflows from Zimbabweans based abroad and locals working for
foreign-owned organisations, whose salaries are paid in foreign
currency.

Economic analysts were sceptical, noting that Zimbabwe has
seen desperate shortages of foreign exchange that have already caused
serious fuel shortages.

They said overseas Zimbabweans, an important
source of foreign exchange, were still largely bringing their money into the
country through the black market where it can fetch double the official
exchange rate.

"The whole thing does not ring true, bearing in mind the
figures Gono himself gave from the diaspora were pretty low. There's still a
huge gap between what is going in and flowing out," said Anthony Hawkins, an
economics professor at the University of Zimbabwe.

Mugabe's relations
with western countries have soured over his seizure of white-owned farms for
blacks and charges that his ruling ZANU-PF party has rigged recent
elections.

Once the breadbasket of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe now sees
regular food shortages while inflation has soared into triple digits and
unemployment stands at more than 70 percent.

After six years of
recession, the economy has shrunk by nearly a third.

HELP FROM
CHINA?

Zimbabwe has been talking to South Africa about a possible loan to
help it with the IMF payment, along with purchases of food and fuel, and
Gono said the discussions were still ongoing.

Finance Minister
Herbert Murerwa told state television on Thursday that Zimbabwe had told
South Africa it would not accept any political conditions on the
loan.

"We are negotiating but we have told them that we will not accept
any political conditions, and that these negotiations are not the right
platform for politics," he said in remarks made in the local Shona
language.

The Herald newspaper separately said it understood South Africa
had been contemplating a payment of US$100 million directly to the
IMF.

But a source in President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party said
the current IMF payment was partly covered by money from China, which Mugabe
has courted as his relations with the West deteriorate.

Mugabe paid
an official visit to China in July, and while he returned to Harare with
only a handful of public commitments from Beijing some analysts say China
may be playing a more active role behind the scenes.

Gono told the Herald
that Zimbabwe's payment was no guarantee it would not face expulsion from
the IMF on September 9, a position echoed by other economic
analysts.

"The reality about this IMF vote is that it's a political vote
and you have to bear in mind that Western countries who have clashed with
Mugabe have a bigger vote," one analyst who asked not to be identified told
Reuters.

"At the end of the day it's up to them whether they want to keep
us in or not."

International
pressure is mounting for Robert Mugabe to be indicted by the International
Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity. Although Zimbabwe
is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court, Australia and New
Zealand have already set in motion plans to push the United Nations to refer
Mugabe to the ICC for possible prosecution. Alexander Downer, the Australian
foreign minister, said although it may be difficult to bring Mugabe to the
Hague, it was worth a try.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of
Namibia's National Society for Human Rights Phil ya Nangoloh is urging all
other UN member states, including the five UN security council permanent
members to support the Australia-New Zealand move.

He said
a new democratic government in Zimbabwe can actually ask the ICC to indict
Mugabe and prosecute him in the Hague or even prosecute him
internally.

HARARE -
Zimbabwe earlier this week made a surprise US$120 million payment to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to avoid expulsion from the fund
over an outstanding US$295 million debt, authoritative sources told
ZimOnline last night.

Ministry of Finance officials speaking on
condition they were not named said the money was provided by China although
the official line in Harare was that it was raised locally.

Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa would not confirm or deny the payment when
contacted for comment last night but said he would issue a statement on the
matter today. "We will issue a statement tomorrow (today) on the IMF,"
Murerwa said.

The IMF board meets on September
9 and was expected to decide whether to expel Zimbabwe for nonpayment of
debt. But the board is unlikely to recommend expulsion after Harare paid
nearly half of the outstanding amount.

Expulsion would have
hastened the total collapse of Zimbabwe's crisis-sapped economy with
creditors rushing to seize the southern African nation's
assets.

According to the sources President Robert Mugabe's
government was still negotiating with South Africa for a US$500 million loan
it had offered to help Harare pay off the IMF and to also buy food and fuel.
But they said the mood especially among hardliners in Harare was that:
"South Africa can go to hell if it insisted on political conditions for the
loan."

"It is people like Gono (Gideon, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor) and Murerwa who are pushing for the South African deal saying the
country needs all the help it can get," said one government
official.

Gono and Industry and International Trade permanent
secretary Christian Katsande arrived in South Africa yesterday to negotiate
with the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) a loan facility for the importation of
fuel and food.

The two Zimbabwean officials, who are
reciprocating a visit to Harare last week by RMB officials over the same
deal, are expected to offer the merchant bank gold mines as security for the
loan, whose amount was yet unclear by last night.

Pretoria, whose leverage on Harare appears undercut after the Chinese gave
Mugabe money to pay the IMF, had among other pre-conditions demanded that
the veteran Zimbabwean leader reopens dialogue with the opposition to find a
sustainable and democratic solution to his country's crisis.

Mugabe
publicly rejected the condition saying he would rather talk to British
Premier Tony Blair who he says is the principal behind Zimbabwe's main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change party.

South African
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma yesterday conceded her
government may not have as much leverage on Zimbabwe telling Parliament in
Cape Town that Pretoria could not force Harare to accept its
money.

Dlamini-Zuma also told South African legislators that Harare
had already made a payment to the IMF. ZimOnline.

HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor
Gideon Gono and International Trade secretary, Christian Katsande, arrived
in South Africa on Thursday to offer gold mines to the Rand Merchant Bank
(RMB) as cover for a hard cash loan to import fuel and food, ZimOnline
established.

Zimbabwe approached RMB last week for a loan facility
to import maize to avert starvation threatening four million people or
nearly half of the country's 11 600 000 people. President Robert Mugabe's
cash-strapped administration also wants foreign currency to end biting fuel
shortages threatening to bring crisis-sapped Zimbabwe to a complete
halt.

Gono and Katsande's visit was in reciprocation to a visit to
Harare last week by officials of the South African Bank to discuss the loan
deal.

RBZ officials speaking on condition they were not named said
Gono and Katsande, who are scheduled to return to Harare today, were
expected to provide finer details requested by RMB, chiefly the issue of
security cover for the loan.

"RMB has asked for a comprehensive
security profile, Gono and Katsande are going to offer some gold mines to
match the South Africans' demands," an RBZ executive privy to the
negotiations said last night.

Energy Minister Mike Nyambuya refused
to take questions on the matter when contacted by ZimOnline last
night.

According to sources the only possible hurdle to the loan
deal being sealed was if RMB declined the mines being offered by Harare. It
was not possible to establish which mines Zimbabwe was offering or exactly
how much it was seeking from the South African merchant bank.

Zimbabwe requires about US$100 million a month to import petroleum products
and would require several millions more in hard cash to pay for food
imports.

The country has rich mineral deposits including the second
largest known deposits of platinum. But similar deals in the past with
Libyan firms under which Zimbabwe offered cheap mining investment
opportunities in exchange for oil collapsed after the Arab firms later
demanded hard cash payments.

As at the end of last year, the
Zimbabwe government through its oil utility, National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe, owed a total US$171 million to several Libyan, Iranian and South
African oil firms.

A US$500 million loan offer by South Africa to
Zimbabwe to help the country pay off debts to the International Monetary
Fund as well as to import food and fuel is hanging in the balance because
Harare is unhappy with some political conditions attached to the
loan.

South Africa wants Mugabe to commit to reviving dialogue with
the opposition to find a democratic solution to Zimbabwe's crisis before it
can releaser fund to his government.

The veteran Zimbabwe
leader, blamed by many for ruining his country's once prosperous economy,
has rejected calls to reopen dialogue with the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party, saying he would rather talk to British
Premier Tony Blair who he claims is the principal behind the MDC.
ZimOnline.

HARARE - The Zimbabwe government last night slammed Australia
and New Zealand for calls to drag President Robert Mugabe and senior members
of his ruling ZANU PF party to The Hague, saying this showed the West's
desperation to effect regime change in the southern African
nation.

Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday said they were
lobbying the United Nations Security Council to indict Zimbabwean Mugabe and
his government in the International Criminal Court for crimes against
humanity.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that,
because Zimbabwe was not a party to the court, Mugabe could only be indicted
with a reference from the UN Security Council.

"We know that
this is being done to punish Zimbabwe for taking land from their kith and
kin (white farmers) but it does not deter us at all," Security Minister
Didymus Mutasa told ZimOnline yesterday.

"We know that they will
not succeed in their efforts to remove President Mugabe, that will never
happen," Mutasa added.

On Tuesday ZANU-PF MPs rammed through
constitutional amendments that will enable Harare to nationalise all land
grabbed from white farmers, create a Senate and allows authorities to seize
passports from citizens deemed to be calling for sanctions against the
government.

Australia , New Zealand together with the European Union
and United States have imposed travel restrictions on Mugabe and his top
officials because of alleged human rights abuses.

Only
recently, the Harare administration cracked down on what it calls illegal
settlements in a move that rights groups say has left up to 300,000
homeless. A UN report on the exercise said up to 700, 000 people were left
without shelter although Harare puts the figure at 120,000.

But
Downer however admitted that getting a resolution to indict Mugabe through
the UN Security Council would be difficult since Mugabe enjoys the support
of most African and developing nations. ZimOnline.

Court issues warrant of arrest for former top official of
Mugabe's partyThu 1 September 2005

HARARE - A Zimbabwe court on
Wednesday issued a warrant of arrest for former top official of President
Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party and one of the country's richest
businessmen, James Makamba, after he failed to turn up for a
hearing.

Makamba, who last year spent more than six months in jail
awaiting trial for illegally trading in scarce foreign currency, was set to
appear before the Harare magistrate's court for a routine remand hearing on
renewed charges of contravening the Exchange Control Act.

But
Makamba, who was once a member of ZANU PF's key central committee as well as
its chairman in its stronghold Mashonaland Central province, was not at
court when his name was called out which led the court to issue a warrant
for his arrest.

Although Makamba was last year convicted on his own
plea of guilty to six counts of illegally dealing in foreign currency
amounting to US$133 000, ZANU PF insiders insisted his was targeted by the
police more because of suspicion by President Robert Mugabe that he was
having an affair with his young wife, Grace.

Both Makamba and
Mugabe's office have never commented on the suggestions the businessman, who
is related to second Vice-President Joyce Mujuru, was being persecuted
because of suspicions he may have had an affair with the President's
wife.

The charges Makamba is facing were revived after the Supreme
Court rescinded a High Court judgment, which last August set the
politician-turned-businessman free.

Makamba was earlier this
month reported to have fled to South Africa to settle. But the businessman,
who owns several large investments in Zimbabwe including the country's third
mobile phone network, denied he had fled and said he would return to Harare
on time for his court appearance. ZimOnline.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 31 (IPS) - When the United States, one of the
self-declared champions of human rights, ran for a seat in the 53-member
U.N. Human Rights Commission back in May 2001, it suffered a humiliating
defeat and was ousted from the panel for the first time since its creation
in 1947.

The resentment against Washington was so intense that many
of the members who publicly pledged their votes to the United States reneged
on their promises privately -- and got away with it.

The reason:
voting in U.N. elections, including for the Human Rights Commission, is
traditionally by secret ballot. And it is virtually impossible to figure out
who among the 191 member states voted for which candidate.

Now the
United States is spearheading a campaign to disband the commission and
replace it with a new Human Rights Council to be elected directly by the
191-member General Assembly by a two-thirds majority.

If the proposal
is eventually approved by member states, those elected to the new council
will be expected to "undertake to abide by human rights standards in their
respect, protection and promotion of human rights".

The United States
believes that by laying down stringent conditions, it would be possible to
bar countries such as Sudan, Zimbabwe and Libya -- all of them accused of
human rights violations at one time or another -- from finding a seat in the
new council.

But one Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity,
says that the United States may itself be a casualty judging by its poor
record on human rights -- particularly following its global war on
terrorism.

"As expected, if elections are by secret ballot, the United
States may possibly fail to get a seat in the new council because U.N.
member states will get an opportunity to express their true feelings -- at
voting time," he added. "For the United States, it's a political
gamble."

But Jim Paul, executive director of the New York-based Global
Policy Forum, which closely monitors the United Nations, is sceptical --
although he concedes that the U.S. human rights record in recent years has
not been exemplary.

"If the United States is shut out of the new
council, that "would be poetic justice", he said.

"But I doubt that
would happen, despite the fact that human rights organisations have been
quite harsh critics of the United States' human rights record and have even
called for U.S. leaders to be brought to trial," he added.

"Everyone
who is a fair judge of these matters recognises that the United States is a
major human rights violator, largely because of its conduct outside its
borders. But there will be tremendous pressure on member states to see the
emperor is fully clothed, even if he is utterly naked," Paul told
IPS.

Governments will worry that by not electing the United States,
they will further weaken the United Nations. They will also be concerned
about their bilateral relations with Washington, he added.

John
Bolton, the controversial new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has
placed high priority on the creation of the Human Rights Council, which was
one of the proposals in a plan of action for the reform of the world
body.

This proposed plan -- officially called "the outcome document"
-- was to have been approved by some 170 world leaders at the upcoming U.N.
summit Sep. 14-16.

But Bolton's attempt to drastically change the
outcome document, including some 750 amendments, has put the entire exercise
in jeopardy.

Still, even if most of the other proposals to revitalise the
United Nations are shot down, the United States wants to salvage the Human
Rights Council.

A "core group" of countries, representing all
geographical regions, is currently working behind closed doors to come up
with a compromise document acceptable to all 191 member states.

The
proposal for a new council, which is also being discussed by the core group,
has strong support from a coalition of some 15 international human rights
organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the
Association for the Prevention of Torture, the International Commission of
Jurists, Lutheran World Federation, the Quakers and International Service
for Human Rights.

Last week the International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights (IHF) reiterated its support for the new body, urging member
States "to commit to establishing a strong and effective Human Rights
Council".

"The IHF insists that, in the negotiations to be held in coming
days, the existing draft provisions on the Human Rights Council must not be
weakened, but -- at least -- retained in their present form", Aaron Rhodes,
IHF executive director, said in a statement released here.

To the
extent possible, stronger language should be included on this issue in the
outcome document, e.g. to require that those elected to the new body have
made concrete efforts to demonstrate their dedication to human rights; to
provide that the proposed peer review is implemented through a process that
is transparent and draws on a broad number of sources; and to extend the
means for civil society participation, he added.

Most important, Rhodes
said, the summit outcome document should lay down a solid framework for the
establishment of a Human Rights Council and spell out a clear timeline for
completing the reforms.

"This will ensure that constructive discussions
can be held in the post-summit period to determine the exact mandate and
modalities of the new body," he added.

The proposal for the creation
of a Human Rights Council was made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as part
of a restructuring of the world body.

Paul of Global Policy Forum said
that a secret ballot for elections to the new council may not afford much
comfort, given the U.S. propensity to bug U.N. foreign missions with
electronic devices.

Many reasons will be put forward to justify a vote
for Washington's membership, he said, pointing out that U.S.-based media
companies "will be howling about a conspiracy to exclude the world's
foremost human rights defender".

"I wish the elections to the council
could be based on fair and even-handed criteria, but it will be, as always,
heavily influenced by political considerations," Paul said.

"And, at
the end of the day, where are the member states that deserve membership
based on an unsullied (human rights) record? It may be obvious that the
United States should be excluded, but who should be included? No wonder
there is no checklist of membership criteria because few would qualify," he
added. (END/2005)

BEIJING (People's Daily Online) - A Harare-based Iranian
company, Eternity Star Motors, is set to invest in a multi-billion-dollar
assembly plant in Zimbabwe to manufacture motorized tillers and other
agricultural equipment, local newspaper The Herald reported on
Wednesday.

The company's Chairman Hassan Jafari was quoted as saying on
Tuesday the deal already sailed through and the Iranian company, which also
produces motor bikes and car gearboxes, had shown keen interest in the joint
motorized power tiller project.

"The company has shown interest in
coming up with a joint venture on the tiller and other agricultural
equipment and with their knowledge and capital, they will assist us to
produce the Mitsubishi Technology licensed tillers," Jafari said.

He
said the equipment to set up the assembly plant was coming from Iran and the
assembly line was expected to be completed within two months.

Jafari also
said the company expects to export some of their products, which costs 300
million Zimbabwean dollars (about 12,500 dollars) together with its
attachments, to neighboring countries.

The company also launched its own
brands of motor bikes in Africa that will be assembled in Zimbabwe under the
brand name "Tiri Tese".

Iran has been one of the leading supporters to
Zimbabwe's agricultural revolution and has contributed immensely towards its
development.

The volume of trade between the two nations is expected to
increase to 1.5 billion dollars by 2010.

The bilateral relations
between Zimbabwe and Iran have resulted in strong partnership agreements
being forged.

Nowhere to go: It is estimated that 1 million people
have been made homeless by the demolition program. (ABC TV)

Zimbabwe demolitions leave thousands in limbo

By Africa correspondent Zoe Daniel for
AM

In Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, almost
75,000 people have been made homeless by what the Government calls its slum
clean up campaign but opponents call politically-motivated destruction.

Many of these men, women and children are now at serious risk of
starvation and disease after being scattered into the countryside.

There is little evidence of the new homes promised by the Government,
only continued intimidation of those trying to help people who are desperate and
hungry.

Just a few minutes from his home in central Bulawayo,
Opposition MP David Coltart examines what remains of a large township.

"So this was a home destroyed and you can see that this was
not a shack built up overnight," Mr Coltart said.

Once, 2,500 people lived in the township but now there is
only rubble left.

The people have been dispersed in the Government's
demolition campaign, Operation Restore Order.

"You can see from the plants, the crops that have been
planted here that this would probably have been a home of some people for
several years and in some cases people had lived in this area for 25 years and
were evicted on two or three hours' notice," Mr Coltart said.

Mr Coltart has just returned to Zimbabwe from Australia,
where he was trying to publicise the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans, who have
lost their homes and livelihoods.

The campaign is ostensibly to clean up slums and crime but
is more likely designed to crush the Government's political opponents.

Since the Opposition for Democratic Change MP returned, the
situation has worsened. The aftermath of the demolition campaign may be worse
than the event itself.

"Many people are living out in the open," Mr Coltart
said.

"I've had reports just this week of grandmothers, of young
children, of pregnant mothers still sleeping out in the open because they have
been taken out into the rural areas where there are no homes."

No government help

In and around Bulawayo about 75,000 people have been made
homeless by the Government's flattening of townships.

Joseph is one of the lucky ones because he has been able to
find some temporary shelter for his family.

But he says there has been no help from authorities, who
have promised new homes for those displaced in the demolitions.

"How can I say to the Government because I have not even
seen any government, since we arrived here, since we were there, everybody was
crying," Joseph said.

"Not me, but everybody was crying. There was no help."

Church aid

Joseph and his family now rely on the church for food and
clothing, but their place of worship was also crushed by the bulldozers.

Mr Coltart says it is hard to imagine looking at the site
that there was once a church there.

"Despite the protestations of people that this was in fact
a place of worship, the police came in an utterly destroyed it in the space of a
couple of hours," he said.

Reverend Albert Chatindo, from the Christian Faith
Fellowship Church, was forced to watch as his pride and joy was pulled down.

"We have given them food and clothing and blankets in
winter and so on, so they were like my blood relatives," Reverend Chatindo
said.

"We grew to love each other so much. We were so close. I
really, I don't easily cry but when the day in question in winter, seeing the
children and so on, I really, I cried. Most of them were also crying."

"I've had reports... of grandmothers, of young children, of pregnant
mothers still sleeping out in the open."

Now Reverend Chatindo and other church workers are battling
intimidation from authorities to support those who lost everything in the
Government campaign.

"It is very, very difficult. You know, you live in fear,
fear of intimidation, fear of accusation, being accused for working against the
authorities," he said.

In some instances, they are battling just to find those who
have been dumped in the countryside and to keep them alive.

"I don't know if you have heard that so far we have lost
five people who died," the Reverend said.

"The worst was one old man, you know because he was living
in the bush. He fell sick and died there and no-one saw him.

"When we discovered, the ants had already eaten out the
eyes out and they were now on the lips.

"It's a terrible situation and only us, the field workers,
get to know these situations, but not everybody else knows."

Members of the foreign media, including the ABC, are normally banned from
Zimbabwe.

But the ABC's Africa Correspondent, Zoe Daniel, was granted accreditation to
cover the cricket and then made secret visits to people and places affected by
the demolitions.

Below is the Order Paper Voting Record for the 4
Clauses where the the House divided and individual votes were recorded during
the Committee Stage of the Bill - Clause 2 - Land acquisition and removal of
access to courts, Clause 3 - removal of freedom of movement, Clause 7 - the
Senate - and Clause 21 - removal of right to vote from permanent
residents.

Note that there were some mistakes in the Order
Paper printed, and unfortunately we only have the uncorrected Order Paper, but
it gives an indication.

IN what is widely seen as an apparent
attack on democracy, ZANU PF this week used its dubious parliamentary
majority to railroad controversial constitutional amendments as New Zealand
and Australia pushed for the indictment of President Robert Mugabe and his
government in the International Court.

Determined ZANU PF
legislators, helped by non-constituency Members of Parliament and chiefs,
voted 103 against 29 for the opposition to amend the country's constitution
for the 17th time since independence in 1980 in a move roundly condemned by
both the local and international communities. The amendments, now
awaiting President Mugabe's signature to become law, strip commercial
farmers of the right to challenge land seizures instituted by the government
to redress past historical injustices. In short, the loss of property
rights under the 17th amendment of the constitution effectively nationalises
all land in the country and renders useless at least 5 000 court challenges
that were before the courts. Under the provisions of the new
amendments, people perceived to be enemies of the state will be barred from
travelling abroad as the new law allows the withdrawal of passports. Those
who have one or more foreign parents and hold permanent residence status but
not full citizenship would also be disenfranchised. The amendments
also provide for the establishment of a 65-member Senate, which critics say
President Mugabe wants to set up to accommodate his loyalists, especially
Sithembiso Nyoni who was recently demoted as minister of small to medium
enterprises. Fifty members of the senate will be elected, while the rest
will be traditional chiefs and presidential appointees. Sources
said yesterday President Mugabe envisaged senatorial elections by
October. Paul Themba Nyathi, the Movement for Demo-cratic Change (MDC)
spokesman, described the ame-ndments as representing a flagrant disregard
for democratic rights, standards and processes. "A constitution
should be a symbol of national consensus. This consensus can only be
established if a constitution is formulated in full consultation with the
people," said Nyathi. The MDC secretary for information and publicity
slammed plans to re-introduce a bicameral parliament, an institution
abolished in 1987 after the creation of an executive presidency, saying the
cash-strapped government, presently scouting for aid to buy fuel and grain,
had no resources to bankroll an enlarged legislative house. "The
creation of the Senate is in no way a move to improve legislative oversight.
It has simply been created as an extension of presidential patronage, aimed
at soothing bruised egos within the ruling party," said Nyathi, adding:
"This is a sad day for democracy. For the MDC and the people of Zimbabwe,
the amended constitution is nothing but a politically partisan document,
totally lacking in legitimacy. Its contribution will be an intensification
of the crisis in Zimbabwe." The Law Society of Zimbabwe added its voice
in condemning the amendments, describing them as "an assault to democracy
and a mockery of the judiciary". In a statement, the National
Association of Non-Governmental Orga-nisations also weighed in, rejecting
the way ZANU PF tampered with the co-nstitution without broad
consultation. Canberra and Welling-ton, long accused of pressing for
regime change in Zimbabwe, moved with speed on Tuesday, lobbying for the
indictment of President Mugabe and his government who are adamant the new
law, which analysts described as a "rape on democracy", is urgently needed
to complete the what they say is a "Third Chimurenga" and thwart alleged
terrorist activities. Alexander Downer, the Australian Foreign
Minister who together with his New Zealand counterpart has for the past few
years mounted a campaign to isolate Harare, said because Zimbabwe was not a
party to the International Criminal Court, President Mugabe could only be
indicted with a reference from the United Nations Security Council.
"I very much hold the view that as a country, which is party to the
International Criminal Court and bearing in mind the simply horrific things
happening in Zimbabwe . . . that it worth a try to get an indictment,"
Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corporation Television. The
Australian foreign minister, however, admitted it would be difficult to get
an indictment through the UN Security Council. In the past it has been a
daunting task for Presi-dent Mugabe's opponents to establish a consensus in
the UN Security Council to censure the Zimbabwean strongman after being
blocked by China and other Third World countries. Downer added: "We
have started a process of talking with some members of the Security Council.
I think it's best to describe the response as cautious. I think the US
position, the British position and the French position is one of wanting a
bit more time to consider the issue. Nobody has given a commitment yet to
take this forward. I know it's going to be difficult."

THE government, which
admits it is broke, will have to spend $800 billion to follow its rights in
Hwange Colliery Company's (HCC) rights issue, which now aims to raise $2
trillion from the original target of $1 trillion.

There are
also concerns that the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), a key
shareholder in the country's sole coal producer, might also struggle to
raise funds for its own rights, given new requirements that compel the
authority to have 35 percent of the value of its investment portfolio in
prescribed assets. The new measures, which have caused a three-week
long impasse on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and also look set to
derail the rights offer, mean NSSA, like other pension funds, will have to
sell a massive chunk of its assets. CBZ Holdings Limited and the
Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) have been named as the possible
underwriters of the colliery's rights issue, slated for later this
month. Analysts have questioned the capacity of local financial
institutions to underwrite a transaction of HCC's magnitude. The rights
offer is aimed at financing various mining projects at HCC, settle loans and
boost the group's working capital position. The financial institutions could
not readily comment on the issue. Over a trillion dollars would go
towards boosting capital expenditure within the group. According to
available figures, about $473 billion is estimated to be sunk into the
opencast venture while an underground project is set to take over $600
billion. "Although they are no serious commitments made yet, several
banks including ZABG and CBZ have shown interest in the underwriting
position. The amount is a moving target, mainly a function of the exchange
rate and the question that has arisen is whether there is capacity on this
market (local) to underwrite that size of a transaction. But government is a
major shareholder so they can just print their allocation, Van Hoogstraten
is also there so he will have to convert some pounds to follow his rights.
The two will not want to be diluted because of Hwange's potential and its
strategic nature, but where will Hwange get the funds even if they get the
local currency equivalent," said an investment analyst. Should HCC
be able to win key support from shareholders and also get a lead in the
capital raising exercise, availability of foreign currency to proceed with
vital projects might pose problems for the group. HCC has been battling
to raise only US$25 million for some time since last year owing to hard
currency shortages in the country. Godfrey Dzinomwa, managing director
of the colliery company, declined to comment on the rights issue, saying his
company would issue statements in due course. Hwange indicated
early this year that the group had plans to raise over $1 trillion but
changes on the exchange rate have seen the figure going up within the same
period. "The existing foreign currency denominated debt will continue
to present huge exchange risk to the company. Owing to a lack of investment
in plant and equipment, the consequent down time will continue to adversely
affect Hwange Colliery's income generating capacity; and the company's
working capital position will continue to be negative," a source in HCC
said. Although no official comment could be obtained from HCC, the
same people said the total figure of the rights issue would be affected by
the movement of foreign exchange. Government, who are the major shareholders
in the company, has indicated its intention to follow its rights. The state
holds over 38 percent of the company's total issue stock.

A BADLY bruised
Zimbabwe dollar - under siege since the infamous black Friday of November
1997 - is yet to find its true value with huge losses suffered in recent
weeks pointing to the urgent need to ring-fence its failing defence
mechanism.

Since January, the battered local unit has been on a
freefall against major currencies with pundits predicting it might end the
eventful year trading at around $35 000 on the official market against the
United States dollar. The Zimdollar - yielding to a yawning
demand-supply disequilibrium and resurgent inflation - has come down with a
thud from around $5 900 in January, settling briefly at $10 800 around June
before plunging further downhill to $17 500 in July. But more was
still to come. The unit suffered another waterloo shortly before last
month's visit by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, raising
speculation the latest crash could have been meant to placate the global
lender that has repeatedly asked Harare to abide by the rules of free-market
forces. The IMF board of directors is meeting on Friday next week to discuss
Harare's arrears and future in the institution. As at the last auction,
the unit traded at $24 500 against the US dollar, although it is fetching a
huge premium on the illegal parallel market. Best Doroh, an
economist, said the insatiable appetite for scarce foreign exchange coupled
with the widening inflation differentials between Zimbabwe and its trading
partners, has put the Zimdollar under extreme pressure. A hazy
inflation outlook offers no reprieve for the Zimdollar, with the July rate
of inflation amassing a record 90.5 percentage points to 254.8 percent from
164 percent the previous month. This has pushed the central bank further
from its 80 percent December target. "I don't think we are there yet,
look at inflation, which is going up," Doroh said, dismissing suggestions
that the local unit could have anchored at the correct level. "We
believe this is the start of a policy to allow the exchange rate to move
freely in line with purchasing power parity," Reuters quoted Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce president Luxon Zembe saying. "But without
balance of payments support to stabilise the economy, the results will be
short term. Our industry has been battered and has no capacity to generate
enough foreign currency." Bids received on the foreign currency auction
established by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) early last year have
overwhelmed the resources offered by the central bank, which has done its
best under the circumstances. As of July, the central bank was
processing on average 6 000 to 10 000 bids per auction with a value ranging
from US$150 million to US$200 million against $12.5 million on
offer. While resubmissions, splitting of proforma invoices and use of
different suppliers for same invoices inflated the bids, there is no denying
that the Zimdollar would find it difficult to hold faced with the myriad
demands. Witness Chinyama, another local economist, said unless the
country gets it right on the elusive export and inflation front, the local
currency would fail to hold against major international currencies and its
defence mechanism would continue giving in. The consequences have
been too ghastly to contemplate for a country that is so dependent on
imported raw materials. Exporters, who would earn more Zimbabwe dollars
from their receipts, have had little to smile about as production costs have
risen rapidly owing to cost-push inflation. "The depreciation is
there to make exports viable, but exports alone are not enough. We also need
to augment export earnings with foreign direct investments. The currency can
stabilise when we have enough foreign exchange reserves. Right now the
exchange rate can go through the roof because there is a shortage. It is no
longer a question of inflation alone, but these shortages as well. Only
about six percent of the bids are getting foreign currency on the auction
and this means that we need to bridge the shortage so our currency can in
future respond to inflation differentials," said Chinyama. Central
bank figures show that foreign exchange inflows for the first six months
amounted to US$630 million compared to US$141.1 million during the same
period last year. The improved foreign exchange inflows saw the RBZ
increase the amount offered on the foreign exchange auction from US$11
million per auction to US$12.5 million since June. Analysts said
the long-term solution was to re-engage foreign donors, particularly the
IMF, which is crucial in releasing balance of payments support to stabilise
the fragile economy. Zimbabwe is in the throes of its worst economic
crisis since independence 25 years ago, largely triggered by seizures of
white-owned farms for the resettlement of landless blacks.
Allegations of vote rigging have also isolated the former British colony,
with donors and institutions such as the IMF withholding funding. Six years
of recession have left the once thriving economy on the brink of collapse,
with unemployment at over 70 percent.

A LEADERSHIP crisis has
emerged in ZANU PF's strife-torn Masvingo province, with the ruling party's
old guard panicking at the prospect of ambitious Young Turks gaining greater
influence following the death of Josiah Tungamirai.

ZANU PF
insiders said the party was now in a quandary over who to "baptise as the
overseer" in the politically turbulent province. Tungamirai, a retired
air marshal and minister of indigenisation who had emerged as the soul of
the ruling party in the fractious province, died last week.
Tensions over leadership come after outspoken former ZANU PF Masvingo
provincial chairman Dzikamai Mavhaire, who was once suspended for calling on
President Robert Mugabe "to go", has staged a dramatic comeback and is
reportedly regaining his political clout in the area. Among those
touted as the "front-runners" for the godfather tag in the province are
retired Zimbabwe National Army Commander Vitalis Zvinavashe and Chiredzi
North Member of Parliament Celine Pote. Insiders who fear the battle to
succeed Tungamirai could be hijacked by camps involved in the tussle to
succeed President Mugabe, who has hinted at retiring in 2008, said the
deaths of vice president Simon Muzenda and the former air marshal had
reduced the old guard's influence in the province. Tungamirai was seen
more as aligned to retired army general Solomon Mujuru's camp, which fought
a bitter war against former ZANU PF secretary for administration Emmerson
Mnangagwa for the party's second vice-presidency, which was won by Joice
Mujuru. "They are all very weak. Zvinavashe is afraid of the people, he
is not a politician. (Mai) Pote is relatively unknown and (Stan) Mudenge is
not in the best of health," said a ZANU PF insider. "Even the one
who will be baptised leader from the top will just be a figurehead. At the
moment there are no front-runners, which is the same situation in
Matabeleland," said the insider. In Matabeleland, where the ZANU PF
leadership is accused of appointing political stooges with little support on
the ground, the party has lost ground to the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change. ZANU PF's grip is also slipping in Manicaland
province because of lack of strong leadership. In the Midlands province, the
sidelining of the provincial executive sympathetic to presidential hopeful
Mnangagwa has plunged the whole province into chaos. "In the
Midlands, a civil war is raging, (Rugare) Gumbo versus Mnangagwa," said ZANU
PF insiders. Zvinavashe this week said he was in the dark on the
leadership succession issue. "I have not been told anything so I cannot
comment," he said in a terse response. Elliot Manyika, the ZANU PF
political commissar, refused to shed light on the leadership crisis in
Masvingo. "It is a question of timing, it's not even a week since the
man (Tungamirai) passed away and you are already talking of succession,"
Manyika said.

WHEN
President Robert Mugabe warned at the weekend about shadowy characters
amongst us - "treachery from within" designed to destroy this great country
- his opponents charged he was "hallucinating". But on Tuesday, The Herald
provided hard evidence on its front page.

After eight months, 50
000 new number plates and a handy $30 billion in the kitty, government has
made a U-turn on the much vaunted issue of new Zambian-like vehicle
registration plates. The reason for this latest reversal is earth
shattering. Apparently, some bright-spark forgot to add two letters to the
new plates. "So the introduction of the 'ZW' inscription which is an
internationally recognised acronym for Zimbabwe is not a reaction to the
press reports or a result of any form of complaint by the Zambian
authorities," Allowance Sango, the registrar of the Central Vehicle
Registrar (CVR), explained, helpfully clearing the air for the state
daily. Then there was, on the same front page a story about Education
Minister Aeneas Chigwedere, reversing his earlier decree backdating school
fees at government schools to January. "All fees are for the
present and future only and not for the past as well," Chigwedere
philosophised. He demanded that school authorities immediately refund those
who had already paid the backdated fees. This was contrary to an earlier
directive from his ministry raising fees by about 1 000 percent, backdated
to the first term. A picture of a Criminal Investigations Department
(CID) officer probing a meteorite with a ballpoint pen aptly rounded off an
entertaining front page. Chigwedere's latest false step and the
mess at the CVR show where the real "enemies from within" are hiding. It's
in government's own inability to competently hold a consistent line on
policy, resulting in frequent policy reversals in recent times - many of
them comical, but mostly criminal and costly. Government has never
disclosed how much it paid for the imported number plate equipment, touting
the gear as an investment that would vault Zimbabwe into the hi-tech world.
But the billions in taxpayer dollars used to purchase the equipment, and
further amounts spent actually using it, now count for nothing because
someone discovered too late that their original plan did not work. The new
plates looked a bit too Zambian, it has now been noticed, and they had no
"ZW" on them either. The list of damaging policy turnabouts keeps
getting longer. Recently, after running themselves ragged chasing illegal
foreign currency dealers, shouting themselves hoarse against "economic
saboteurs" stashing foreign currency in their pillows, and detaining people
for up to a year for illegal possession of Bush-currency, government
officials had a change of heart. Now, there are "no questions
asked". Nearly two years ago, government shut down bureaux de change,
accusing them of stoking the black market. Today, foreign currency barons
sleep easy in the knowledge that a desperate government now sees them as
saviours. Simba Makoni left his post as finance minister in 2003 after
what he called, in a recent interview with The Financial Gazette,
"differences on broad policy, on our approach to the direction of economic
policy for the country". Many narrow the rift down to Makoni's push for
devaluation, strongly rejected by President Mugabe as "bookish economics" he
so despises. But in the last three months, government has allowed a
cumulative devaluation of more than 75 percent to the current $24 500 on the
US dollar. Two weeks ago, Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa announced a
new tax on gross share sales, and the stock exchange has stalled for three
weeks. The new withholding tax is a reincarnation of the capital gains tax
that government dropped five years ago after conceding it was
unworkable. "One wonders what has changed since then, when the
government saw the tax as impractical, and now, to warrant the introduction
of a similar tax," Zimbabwe Stock Exchange chief executive Emmanuel Munyukwi
told The Financial Gazette last week. Government itself would argue
in its defence that all governments change policy. But most changes are made
so government policies remain relevant, not because of sudden realisation
that earlier policy positions were taken on inept advice or, as at CVR,
because someone just forgot to add two letters. Last month,
Canada's top comedians awarded their bureaucrats the "World's Dumbest"
award, saying they had surpassed those in the US and proved they were "world
class in terms of dumb decisions". Zimbabwe's bureaucrats would remind
the Canadians to stop bragging - until they have three different number
plate types out all at once.

EDUCATION, Sport and
Culture Minister Aeneas Chigwedere has earned the dubious distinction of
being the only member of Cabinet whose hare-brained ideas have been
regularly derided and rejected not only by ordinary Zimbabweans but also by
his colleagues in the ruling party and parliament.

It seems
that since taking over as Minister of Education, Sport and Cul-ture about
five years ago, he has chosen to hide his light under a bushel.
Given his reputation as a renowned educationist and historian, Chigwe-dere
has proved a letdown from month to month. Instead of taking the bull by the
horns to tackle the ills besetting the education system, he seems to have
decided to cause more chaos by deliberately going out of his way to
dismantle the few functional structures and systems left in the
sector. In 2001, faced with a complete shambles in his ministry
characterised by an acute shortage of textbooks, dila-pidated infrastructure
at government schools, rampant corruption and inefficiency at the Zimbabwe
Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC), and many other irregularities,
Chigwedere resorted to diversionary tactics. That was when he announced the
first of the "'revolutionary" changes he re-garded as priorities in his
"vision" to transform and improve the standard of education and its
delivery. Chigwedere arbitrarily decreed that all schools with
inappropriate colonial names were to come up with new indigenous ones by
January 31 2002. He warned that his ministry would impose names on those
schools that failed to comply. "Each school has to have an indigenous name
or a Zimbabwean name", he declared, stressing that there was "no compromise
as far as we are concerned". But despite breathing fire and
brimstone, this was the first of Chigwedere's retrogressive ideas to die a
natural death after being universally rejected. Schools have kept their old
names for historical and other reasons. However, undaunted by this
embarrassing rebuff and unable or unwilling to learn any lessons, Chigwedere
announced his next pet project in May 2002. In an apparent sudden
flash of insight, the minister decreed that all school children in Zimbabwe
would wear one identical uniform and that old uniforms would gradually be
phased out by December 2004. What a hue and cry Chigwedere sparked with this
idea, harking back to the days of Chairman Mao in China when the whole
population turned out in the dull-coloured Mao jacket. Chigwedere
was forced to drop the idea after critics from all sectors of society
roundly condemned it. Opponents of the idea expressed outrage and
pointed out that the one-uniform concept was reminiscent of communist
dictatorships. Parents pointed out that the wearing of one common uniform
would only cause confusion as schools would lose their individual
identities. Chigwedere was reminded that instead of focusing on such petty
matters he should concentrate on addressing burning issues such as improving
the quality of education and the conditions of service of teachers.
If Zimbabweans expected the minister to stand back and reflect after bowing
to the pressure of "people power" on this matter, they were in for an
unpleasant surprise. With the one school uniform fiasco still fresh
in people's minds, Chigwe-dere caused more sparks to fly when he
high-handedly closed 45 private schools in May 2004. His initial gripe was
that the schools had effected exorbitant fee increases without his
ministry's approval. Explanations from the concerned schools' officials
that the increases were necessary to keep up with the country's galloping
inflation fell on deaf ears as the minister dug in his heels. Accusing the
schools of being the last bastions of racial discrimination, he called in
the police to barricade the entrances to these institutions and ordered the
arrest of some headmasters. But as usual, instead of resulting in
any discernible benefit to anyone, all that this ruckus achieved was to
confuse and inconvenience 30 000 children who attend these schools. They
could not attend lessons for weeks and some were traumatised by the sight of
armed riot police on their school premises. Unusually, even
President Robert Mugabe was obliged to speak out when he slammed Chigwedere
for directing his energies towards trivial matters instead of tackling
important issues such as implementing the recommendations of the
Nziramasanga Commission. This body was constituted in the 1990s to look into
problems affecting the education system and made recommendations on the way
forward. None of the recommendations have been implemented. In
other countries a minister guilty of such bungling, poor judgment, sparking
endless clashes with stakeholders and failure to deliver, would voluntarily
offer to resign or be dropped. But alas in Zimbabwe such a lacklustre
performance is not only tolerated but rewarded. It is infuriating that
despite all his clowning, Chigwedere can actually thumb his nose at his
critics. As far as he is concerned, the fact that he retained his portfolio
when President Mugabe reshuffled his Cabinet after the March general
elections is a pat on the back and an expression of confidence in his
effectiveness! And he seems emboldened and determined to continue on
his chosen path of playing the role of a spoiler rather than a facilitator.
Still not prepared to change his hostile attitude towards private schools
despite the tenuousness of the rationale behind his stance, Chigwedere has
dreamt up the Education Act Amendment Bill. The amendments proposed in this
document would give government control over private schools. This would
enable the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture to decree what fees and
levies these schools should charge and oversee the recruitment of
staff. Chigwedere, who has been accused of rushing the proposed
amendments to Cabinet without consulting the ruling party's politburo and
other stakeholders, has angered his parliamentary colleagues. The ZANU PF
legislators have joined teachers, private school trusts, parents'
associations, labour unions and ordinary Zimba-bweans in vehemently opposing
the Bill. Where does Chigwedere go from here? Is this the last the nation
will hear of his counterproductive and unrealistic ideas? Highly
unlikely, if past events are anything to go by. The minister is certain to
come up with another weird idea if he fails to push this Bill through the
legislative assembly. Remember how, out of the blue, he announced that
Zimbabwe would have a national dress by the end of last year? The idea was
once again greeted with scorn and disbelief at the man's failure to get his
priorities right. But watching Chigwedere over the years, it seems that as
far as he is concerned merely announcing these "revolutionary changes"
regardless of whether or not they are viable and practical shows he is doing
his job. Alas, he is not the only government minister to have adopted this
modus operandi. And therein lies the tragedy for this country.

UP until this week, speculation had swirled
about Zimbabwe's imminent expulsion from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). The international monetarists were widely expected to slam the door
on Zimbabwe at their crucial Board meeting next week.

Crisis-hit Zimbabwe and the Bretton Woods twins have over the past decade
had a turbulent relationship over a number of issues. Which is why critical
IMF balance of payments support to Zimbabwe has been on ice for close to a
decade now. Among others, the issues the two sides have been haggling
over include: firstly, the Southern African country's intransigence over its
arrears to the IMF which incensed the lender; and secondly, the fact that
Zimbabwe has not been implementing broad and sound structural reforms around
the management of interest and exchange rates as well as the budget deficit,
all of which impact on inflation and the stability of the economy in
general. It seemed as if fences had irretrievably broken down and
could therefore not be mended. Sceptics felt that it was just a matter of
time before Zimbabwe, whose credit rating had, to all intents and purposes,
been reduced to junk status, was written off by the IMF, which no longer had
the country in its global plans. This was until the events of this
week when Zimbabwe placated the IMF by paying US$120 million to put paid to
any precipitous action by the Fund and what could have been an inglorious
exit from the most influential international lender. Although the
threat of expulsion from the IMF might have provoked a muted response from
some ZANU PF politicians who have a head-in-the-sand ostrich mentality, the
generality of long-suffering Zimbabweans must have heaved a collective sigh
of relief on learning that the country has, at the longest last, met a
significant part of its obligations to the Fund. This is moreso given that
the country has also kept pace with its payment commitments to two other key
institutions, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, both of whom
were this week paid US$4.5 million apiece to bring the country's committed
payments up to date for the quarter ending September 2005. That a
little sunshine is breaking through the dark clouds for what could be a
deeper rapprochement between the IMF and Zimbabwe is cause for celebration,
although sceptics might say not just yet! And indeed cautious monetary
authorities also warned that the paint is still wet for Zimbabwe to lean
against the wall - meaning the country is not out of the woods yet. And we
couldn't agree more. Be that as it may, this week's developments are an
encouraging sign that Zimbabwe might just be able to save its membership
within the key institution. We will not pretend, as would the
politicians, whom nobody seems to take seriously anymore, that Zimbabwe's
political and socio-economic life would remain unshaken with or without the
IMF balance of payments support because nothing could be further from the
truth. The fact of the matter is that explusion would threaten the egg-shell
veneer of stability the country is enjoying. This is moreso if the expulsion
was to happen at this irksome moment when the economy has touched off an
unprecedented meltdown and the country has lost a whole raft of friends,
credibility and prestige. We have said it before and we will say it
again. We do not accept the mystique of the IMF nor do we hold any
particular brief for some of its outworn shibboleths. But the harsh reality,
whether we like it or not, is that it is a key and influential institution
from which international financiers take their cue. Expulsion would
therefore send a damning and ominous signal to the international financier
community that Zimbabwe has its needle well and truly stuck. And this would
be a red flag that would not escape the attention of these financiers. It
would, as surely as the sun rises from the east and sets in the west,
stiffen the hands of those other financiers who had been sitting on the
fence. Resultantly no one would want to touch Zimbabwe even with a barge
pole because IMF support is widely seen as a seal of approval. The situation
obtaining in Zimbabwe today provides telling and luminous evidence of
this. This is why we feel that the pleasantly surprising payment of the
US$120 million is a confidence-bolstering move which is the clearest sign
yet that Zimbabwe cherishes its membership of the IMF. The move should start
the incipient process of re-integrating the increasingly ostracised Zimbabwe
into the community of nations. And that is as it should be because,
metaphorically, no country is an island.

EDITOR - I am really appalled by the
fact that on top of government's failures to provide for the Zimbabwean
masses they are even thinking of making it harder to get a passport by
introducing new, stereotyped laws.

I would like to quote our
Hounourable President when he addressed us in 1991 at Rufaro Stadium on
Workers' Day. I quote: "Musarambe muchishora hurumende kuti haisi kutipa
mabasa . . . wanayi zvekuzviitira . . ." This is what he told the people of
Zimbabwe when the economy was actually starting to collapse. After
this people started going to Botswana, South Africa and Namibia to make an
honest life. On the other hand, the country was producing so many
graduates but there were no jobs and they were encouraged to start their own
businesses but unfortunately there was no enough funding for such
ventures. People then started going to the UK because life there was
perceived to be much better. The government failed to equip hospitals and
doctors left for South Africa, Botswana, the UK and even the US. The
government gave a deaf ear to the people of Zimbabwe's cries for help and
they resorted to a peaceful means of moving on with life. So why is
the government pushing for prohibitive laws that will make things tougher
for people who are already in a very desperate situation? Having said
this, why then is the government thinking of forcing people to stay in
Zimbabwe against their will? Can I have some answers to my questions because
the Zimbabwean government has failed to create jobs for its own people and
they have found an alternative. The President gave us the go-ahead to
travel outside the country and fend for ourselves. So why should the
government now turn around and say that people going abroad is a threat to
the security of the country? The governent must come clean on this
because it is not good to see people suffering when there is absolutely
nothing to give them. Create employment and an efficient health system
and we will be more than ready to come back home.

A COMMON
thread is running through the "outlook" section of company results this
reporting season - a shared fear of more damage to earnings from even faster
increases in interest rates, already touching 19-month highs after a recent
run of rate hikes by the central bank.

Bank lending has hit 300
percent, up from around 80 percent at the start of the year. The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) cut the key bank rate in January to 95 percent, but
has effected five rate hikes since then - including two recent hikes that
came within hours of each other to take the accommodation rate to 270
percent. The rate hikes are the central bank's remaining weapon against
resurgent inflation, but the downside has been a surge in lending rates that
has placed a further burden on an industry already hit by ever-rising
production costs. Suppliers have been offering limited credit
terms, anxious to protect their own loan books, forcing companies to borrow
commercially to finance working capital. Banks, including top tier
players CBZ and Barclays, are sounding a cautious tone on lending.
According to FBC Holdings (FBCH), the high interest rates seen in recent
months have "made commercial (as opposed to concessionary) lending to
customers untenable". Pre-tax profit, up a restrained 31 percent to
$88.6 billion, had come "against a backdrop of curtailed lending" and sharp
and unpredictable changes in interest rates. FBCH's provisions are
down to $6.5 billion from $22 billion in the 2004 first half, but this is
only because the banking group had a massive provision of $64.1 billion at
the end of last year. At Kingdom Financial Holdings, group chief
executive officer Franky Kufa says the institution has over recent months
been "weeding out" what he called high risk accounts, and will in the last
half-year follow a selective and conservative lending policy. Net
provisions went up more than 500 percent over the prior half year to $18
billion, as the full impact of the massive rate hikes of 2004 spilt over
into the new-year. "A number of companies are still distressed due to
high interest rates. The rise in interest rates necessitates aggressive
positioning. What sort of business would yield you more than 300 percent in
this current environment?" Kufa asked. MBCA Bank Limited had net
non-performing loans of $4.8 billion, but said its exposure to depositors,
on a sectoral basis, was not significantly concentrated. Last week,
Barclays announced an increase in its minimum lending rates to 250 percent
on Monday, but raised the rate again a day later to 270 percent. On the same
day, Zimbank raised its own rate to 275 percent. Kingdom charges 285 percent
for its loans, while the rate at NMB Bank is 297 percent. African
Banking Corporation (ABC) Zimbabwe, which is in a strong liquidity position,
has deliberately restrained the growth of its loan book as a precaution
against the heightened risk of default. "The loan book has not grown
substantially as a result of a conservative approach to credit and the high
cost of borrowing," ABC says in its results for the six months to
June. Cafca, the country's largest cable maker, saw its news of
improved export earnings blighted by numbers revealing high gearing levels.
Short-term debt stands at $9.9 billion, but with shareholders' funds of
$10.3 billion, Cafca's net gearing ratio is alarmingly high at 90 percent.
The company paid $3 billion to lenders during the half-year.
Another example of the damage that high rates are having on business is seen
at Celsys, which last year stunned the market with surging growth at its
C-phone payphone business, but whose growth is now severely stunted by
borrowings. The sparkle of last year has been dimmed by a huge
interest charge, the result of high borrowings that Celsys has failed to
shake off since listing. The technology company, which also prints
cellular recharge cards and security documents, made a $26.4 billion
writedown on the debtors' book. An interest charge of $10.5 billion cut
through earnings, leaving an attributable loss of $19.7 billion at the
half-year.

THE continued weakening
of the local currency has triggered a sharp rise in stockfeed prices as
manufacturers turn to expensive imported substitutes in the wake of chronic
raw materials shortages. The local unit tumbled from $10 800 in March to $17
500 against the greenback in July, before plunging further to $24 500 last
month.

National Foods (Natfoods), the leading stockfeed supplier in
Zimbabwe, has admitted facing what it said were "dramatic pressures on raw
material costs", which it has to pass on to the farmers. An official at
Agrifoods, a division of Natfoods, warned of a significant increase in
stockfeed prices as manufacturers battle constant fluctuations in
importation prices. "We are unable to give an exact figure for the prices of
any of our products because they are likely to change in the space of a
week," an official at Agrifoods told The Financial Gazette this week.
Shortages of local and imported raw material has affected the supply of
stockfeed since early May, but the Agrifoods official said his company
expected supplies to improve over the next quarter as the company has begun
importing raw materials from the region. "This month and in the following
month, we hope to start operating at full capacity, as we are now importing
soya beans and maize from South Africa and Zambia, unlike in the period from
May up to mid-July." Natfoods, in its interim report, said it is facing
"dramatic inflationary pressures" on the cost of raw materials, which it
says will be the greatest challenge going into the last half of the year.
"Availability of raw materials is a growing concern both for imported stocks
and locally produced goods, such as packaging, soya beans, cotton seed,
wheat and maize," Natfoods said. Foreign currency problems have hampered the
supply of stockfeed. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has devalued the Zimbabwe
dollar by a cumulative 75 percent in three months to the present level of
$24 100 against the United States dollar, but the local currency is even
lower on the black market where most companies have been sourcing foreign
currency due to short supply on the official market. According to Natfoods,
its foreign currency allocations from the central bank's currency auction
are down 73 percent from the six months ended December 31 2004. The rising
costs of stockfeed have led to higher prices of beef, dairy and poultry
products.

THE Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) reintroduced 30-day treasury bills (TBs) last week, seeking
over $150 billion after failing to win support from investors on long-term
paper amid concerns of rising inflation. The central bank came to the
market last Wednesday with three tenders of 30-day bills. In the first
tender, $36.9 billion was allotted at 221 percent, $59 billion in the second
at 223.9 percent, while $55 billion was allotted for the third at 224.9
percent. The 30-day tender represents a turnabout in policy by the RBZ. In
April, the authorities suspended all trade in short term instruments and
replaced them with long term paper, but the bills failed to attract much
interest. Authorities at the bank had felt that the move would check
speculative positioning while making it easier for them to manage money
market liquidity. However, after a series of long term paper failed to
attract significant subscriptions, the central bank reintroduced 91-day
bills. Dealers say there has been little interest in longer-term bills from
investors, worried by the trend in inflation. Inflation surged to 254.8
percent in July, a record 90.4 percentage point jump from the June rate of
164.3 percent. Dealers see more participation on the new short-term TBs.
"It's an interesting development. The timing of the bills is such that they
will mature just as the August inflation figures come out. Investors are
increasingly taking a short term view on investment," a dealer said this
week. The policy turnaround has been seen as further confirmation that
government coffers have run dry, and as a sign of concern by RBZ at the
inflation rate, which it wants to rein in to 80 percent by December. The
weaker appetite for 91-day TBs is despite the RBZ raising rates to an
average of 270 percent. Dealers have also shown concern at the unpredictable
nature of RBZ liquidity management, citing a recent development where there
had been a difference of over 60 percent between on morning 91-day bill
tender and another issued in the afternoon. Other dealers say the latest
treasury instruments are likely to spell doom for the equities market, which
is already in a crisis after new requirements on pension funds that has
caused a massive share overhang and a new tax on traded shares that
threatens the viability of brokers.

ZIMBABWE'S sovereignty has been
proclaimed from the rooftops as loudly and as often as possible. One would
have to be from another planet not to know that the most noticeable
difference between our country and the rest is the belief of the leadership
in sovereignty as a panacea for all ills.

But as battle-weary
Zimbabweans have learnt through bitter experience, the much-vaunted
sovereignty, far from being of any use in their constant struggle for
economic survival, does not make an iota of a difference. On the contrary,
the louder the leadership shouts about it, the harder life seems to become,
not just for the ordinary person but even for the government
itself. For quite sometime now, it seems to have become imperative for
President Robert Mugabe, upon his return home from his regular foreign
trips, to pay tribute to "friendly countries" for supporting Zimbabwe's
cause or for helping to thwart moves to have the country put on the agendas
of particular summits, committees or organs of international organisations
such as the United Nations. Not long ago the President was paying
fulsome tribute to China, Tanzania and Russia for blocking moves by Britain
and its allies to have the issue of the controversial clean-up exercise
known as Restore Order/Murambatsvina placed on the agenda of the United
Nations Security Council. This was after UN Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka,
had pointed out the serious shortcomings of the exercise in a report she
compiled after spending a fortnight in Zimbabwe These anomalies
that Tibaijuka's report drew attention to are not figments of her
imagination but objective realities affecting the lives of hundreds of
thousands of people. The government of Zimbabwe will not address these
issues at home, alleging as usual that those who express concerns over the
unfairness, harshness, or insensitivity of its actions are puppets of
Western imperialists. By painting everyone who differs with it with the same
brush, President Mugabe's government has been able to disregard the views of
the entire populace and proceed as though everything is normal. For how long
can such a fraudulent position be sustained? Listening to the
President singing the praises of "friendly countries," that endorse his
government's refusal to be accountable to its own people feels like having a
dagger driven through my heart. It is like having surgery without an
anaesthetic. As an ordinary person struggling to keep my head above
water in the prevailing harsh economic and politically noxious environment,
I do not see why I should applaud these people for prolonging my
suffering. The leaders of these countries are no different from
President Thabo Mbeki, who has used his "quiet diplomacy" trick all these
years to covertly express solidarity with the ruling elites in this
country. But how long can the Zimbabwean government avoid facing up to
its international obligations by hiding behind the skirts of these
allies? If ordinary Zimbabweans are to take the rhetoric about
sovereignty seriously, surely the government should show that it has enough
muscle to hold its own on the international stage. The fact that the
government needs "big brothers" like Nigeria and South Africa to shield it
from facing up to its responsibilities makes a mockery of the constant chest
beating about this country's determination never to be "a colony
again". This country may not be a colony again in the literal and
original sense of the word but it is definitely now beholden to new
"masters" in more complex and costly ways. This is too high a price to pay
for pride. For the sake of maintaining the pretence that this country
can go it alone, the government is being treated like a naughty child to be
restrained in public by adults (friendly states). These "Big
Brother" countries definitely do not have the interests of the ordinary
people at heart. If they did, they would not be so keen to shield the
government from facing scrutiny in regional and international forums unless
they knew it had something to hide.

THIS time what will
be Zimbabwe's loud excuse? Assuming that the good Lord blesses us with a
perfect rainy season, can we surely say that the country is ready and geared
to take advantage of its expanded agricultural industry?

As
Zimbabweans, we must learn to own up. The power to change our fate is always
in our hands. The decision to take full responsibility as a sovereign state
is also unquestionably ours and we fought and won it. What we do with it
remains the challenge as a lot of people remain on the banks of economic
activity. For the most, our need to import food is a result of a
drought that did not just hit Zimbabwe but most of the region. However, the
government was the first to acknowledge that we could have done better with
irrigation schemes and that the nation should by now have learnt better that
we are able to go through times as hard as these without having to import
basic foods. This is not the right time to wonder, nor is it the
right time to make forecasts, but if we did not, who should do so for
us? Only a few months from now we will be into our rainy and biggest
agricultural season, when our staple food is generally grown by both urban
and rural families, apart from the old and new commercial farmers. We have
with time moved away from those beautiful years when our seed was simply
recycled from our crops and our composts were opened up for the new season.
We have now moved to the times of tested seed and recommended fertilisers, a
good idea but a bit inconvenient at this stage of our development.
Some people might choose to politicise this simple fact and refuse to accept
that in the short term this move has disadvantaged us because many people
now believe that their recycled seed is not good enough and therefore not
worth planting in the absence of the tested seed. Equally, the use of D
fertiliser was not as common until just recently, with most rural people
useing mufudze or the traditional cattle, goats, sheep manure and prepared
composts. Perhaps, while the country is going through these hard
times, it might be an idea to encourage people to use these traditional
methods that have fed this country for time immemorial. It is good to move
with technology, but sometimes it is better to contend with what you
have. Inputs remain a major issue because tillage power continues to be
in short supply. In my view, we all know too much about what is wrong but
tend to spend a lot of time talking about who is to blame instead of solving
the real challenges. Against this simple background, a few
questions come to mind, such as the appropriateness of those who today are
sitting on the very fertile A2 farms. I agree with the government's position
that if you have not produced before for whatever reason, please surrender
the land back to the state. Refusal or resistance to this humble request by
the government is, in my view, tantamount to economic sabotage. I
think the minister responsible for agriculture must tell the nation honestly
how much seed we have in the country, how much D fertiliser is in the
country, and how much AN fertiliser we have. Having done this, those who are
able to bring in these products must be allowed to do so for as long as they
legally import them through the seed or fertiliser houses in order to ensure
the quality and suitability of these inputs. The people must know how
much we need of each of these inputs. These issues are not security issues
but potential business opportunities for the adventurous. In my
view, imports control for quality purposes can easily be monitored, severe
penalties being imposed on those who might try to cheat the country by
importing fake products. At reasonable prices, people will offer to
import these products. Look at the queues at the foreign currency-only fuel
pumps. There is a bigger security risk in not disclosing these statistics
when again we are hit by famine that we cannot attribute to the
weather. It must also be understood that weather-induced starvation at
the scale of the past years is also soon coming into question. The relevant
ministries must now begin to take responsibility. We cannot take for granted
that it will be business as usual when we go back to the people with excuses
they are already used to. Questions are already being asked about
the dams that are not being utilised all over the country. Questions are
being asked about the boreholes that remain in disrepair, about the rivers
that show no promise of use through smaller tunnels diverted for
agricultural applications throughout the country. These are the issues. They
are not a secret but a public nuisance which nobody seems to take seriously
as they ravage our economy. Did I hear right on Sunday, August 21, that
Governor Samkange said (or did he say so?) that the dreaded Operation
Murambatsvina is finally going to visit A2 farmers? I sincerely hope I heard
what I did, because if it is true, I will live to see the day. However, if
it is not so, I apologise to the governor of Mashonaland West.
Murambatsvina, particularly on the A2 farms, would not be a health but an
economic factor which should target all those hangers-on who claim to have
letters of offer when they are, in fact, carrying fraudulent documents and,
in some instances, show utter intransigence and complete disrespect for
government policy on resettlement. Governor, if I heard you right,
I salute you. Mashonaland West is surely the country's bread basket,
but is performing dreadfully because everyone is everywhere. One cannot help
hearing stories told by the landless about who has how many farms because he
is a chef or a chef's relative. The country, like the President himself, is
tired of such double standards on land. I think it would be a good
idea to publish the true identities of those who benefited from the A2 land
distribution exercise in each province and exactly where they are. After
all, they benefited from a national asset out of trust and national
confidence invested in them that they would produce food for the
country. The lists that were published during the exercise were
understandably inaccurate because of the massive movements taking place at
the time. Also on August 21, the minister of policy implementation said
he was tired of hearing the most spoken word in Zimbabwe - "turnaround". We
now want to hear about the fact that we have taken off, as the minister
said. --- Jonathan Kadzura is a farmer and economic
commentator

Following
calls from Australia's foreign minister for tough action against Robert
Mugabe, Shadow Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell echoed the need for the
international community to take a stand against Zimbabwe's criminal
government. He said:

"Our Government should take Zimbabwe to
the Security Council immediately. The Government's refusal to do this is
unconscionable.

"The desire to help Africa out of poverty,
malnutrition and disease is inextricably linked to the need to be honest and
straightforward about those African leaders who are letting Africa
down.

"There is a moral duty on the Presidents of South
Africa and Tanzania to speak out about what is happening in Zimbabwe, in the
interests of ordinary Zimbabweans whose property, livelihood and homes are
being bulldozed in a flagrant breach of their human
rights."

Washington - The International Monetary Fund stayed tight-lipped
on Thursday on Zimbabwe's possible expulsion from the world lender after the
crisis-hit African country repaid some of its IMF debts.

The IMF took
note that Zimbabwe on Monday had repaid $120m of its arrears but said
President Robert Mugabe's government still owes it about $174m dating back
four years.

The IMF board will meet on September 9 to consider an annual
review of Zimbabwe's economy "as well as the possible issue of compulsory
withdrawal", the organisation said in a brief statement.

"An IMF
staff mission is currently in Harare to review recent economic developments
and prospects. The mission is also preparing a report for the IMF executive
board," it said.

An IMF official refused to be drawn on whether the
partial repayment of Zimbabwe's debt had eased the climate, saying further
comment would come only after next week's board meeting.

The trip by
the IMF team currently in Zimbabwe was extended by two days and ended ON
Wednesday. The mission is due to fly out on Friday.

Zimbabwe Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono said ON Thursday the repayment of part of the IMF debt
did not automatically avert the country's threatened expulsion from the
global lender.

"We are a guilty party from a technical point of view," he
was quoted as saying by the state-run Herald newspaper.

"All we can
do is to plead mitigatory circumstances to our arrears situation and pray
that the jury will see for itself how genuine our efforts at self-correction
are."

Gono said the repayment came possibly from a "positive response
from some of our exporters and holders of free funds in response to some of
the turnaround initiatives ... in particular the favourable exchange rate
policies".

But South Africa's Business Day newspaper on Thursday said
it came from "undeclared foreign exchange reserves which could be seen by
the IMF as a serious violation of its rules on transparent presentation of
key data".

If expelled, Zimbabwe would be only the second country to be
thrown out of the IMF after the former Czechoslovakia in
1954.

[ This
report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 1 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - In a surprise move
cash-strapped Zimbabwe has paid off a substantial part of its arrears to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), but economists are raising questions over
the government's capacity to import enough maize to feed up to 4 million
people facing food shortages.

Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono told
the official Herald newspaper that the government had paid back US $120
million of the US $295 million it owed, saying the funds had been sourced
from exporters and holders of free funds.

"This is a modest payment,
meant to demonstrate our sincerity with respect to our international
obligations," he said. The announcement came just days before a crucial 9
September meeting of the IMF's executive board to discuss Zimbabwe's
possible expulsion over outstanding debt.

Harare-based economist Denis
Nikisi told IRIN that although the government may have accrued some forex
from exporters, he doubted that it had been able to raise a sufficient sum
internally.

"Inflows from Zimbabweans living abroad may have contributed
as well but, by and large, it is unlikely that those funds, coupled with the
proceeds from exporters, would have been enough to pay the IMF such a large
amount," Nikisi explained.

He speculated that President Robert
Mugabe's recent trade and investment visit to China may have paid off,
contrary to media reports that the president had returned home largely
empty-handed.

"Mugabe likely agreed to a number of tradeoffs during his
visit to China in exchange for the cash. However, it remains to be seen if
there is any more left over to buy food for the country," Nikisi
commented.

Zimbabwean authorities have refused to appeal for
international aid to stave off widespread food shortages, insisting instead
that the government has the capacity to import the 1.2 million mt required
to fill the food gap.

Samuel Muvhuti, chief executive officer of the
Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the official purchasing agent, told IRIN on
Thursday the country was bringing in grain at an average rate of 120,000 mt
a month from various sources, mostly private dealers in South
Africa.

"We are well connected to our suppliers in South Africa and other
parts of the world - so far we have imported over 300,000 mt. More grain is
still coming in," said Muvhuti.

He refused to disclose the budget
allocation for grain procurement, saying the information was between the GMB
and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which manages the
allocation.

Murerwa freed grain trading in Zimbabwe earlier this month,
announcing that the state-owned GMB would no longer enjoy a monopoly, and
scrapped duties on maize and wheat imports.

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has with immediate effect
scrapped the gold support price as a consequence of the re-allignment in the
exchange rate.

Central bank governor Dr Gideon Gono announced yesterday
that producers were now benefiting from the higher exchange rate, presently
pegged at $24 000 to the United States dollar, thus rendering the support
price obsolete.

"Henceforth, therefore, all gold trading will be effected
at the auction exchange rate, allowing monetary and fiscal authorities
enough headroom to consolidate the budgetary implications of support
rendered prior to the realignment in the exchange rate," said Dr
Gono.

Furthermore, beginning 2006, the cotton support price will be set
aside in January next year as the auction exchange rate would become the
guiding parameter in setting the cotton prices.

Cotton producers and
cotton-buying houses would thus be expected to enter into selling agreements
that would value cotton deliveries taking into account the benefits of the
realigned exchange rate.

"This way, the growers of the 'white gold' come
to realise and benefit from the export nature of their produce," said Dr
Gono.

It would appear the central bank has embarked on a deliberate
policy to terminate support facilities following the upward adjustment of
the exchange rate.

In July the gold support price had been increased
to $230 000 per gramme from $175 000. More benefits would now be yielded
through the new exchange rate.

In his July monetary policy statement
the governor also scrapped the tobacco support price following the upward
adjustment of the exchange rate.

Tobacco growers have since expressed
their happiness with the new arrangement. Furthermore, the export facility
under which firms borrowed at a concessionary 5 percent interest was also
scrapped last month following the realignment of the exchange
rate.

Industry representatives fully supported this move. Dr Gono also
reiterated that the Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facitlity
(ASPEF) would remain in place until December next year at a special interest
rate of 20 percent per annum.

"As monetary authorities we wish to
reiterate that disbursements under the agriculture support facility are
being done under a rigorous screening and strict post-lending inspection
framework to plug off any attempts to arbitrage and abuse funds accessed
under the facility."

Dr Gono stressed that the transitory setbacks caused
by drought and the exogenous effects of the global fuel price increases
"should thus not shrink our resolve and determination to steer our great
nation towards macro-economic stability, economic growth and
prosperity".

By Adv. Lucas
NkomoLast updated: 09/02/2005 00:47:11FOLLOWING the State's withdrawal
before plea of the second criminal charge of treason against him, MDC party
leader Morgan Tsvangirai issued a statement at a media conference wherein he
discussed the situation in Zimbabwe and the way forward.

In the last
paragraph of the full text of the statement published by Newzimbabwe.com on
3 August 2005, Tsvangirai declared that "We shall be taking the people's
wishes to our international partners and the entire international community
to nudge them to help us find a lasting solution to our problems"

In
the last sentence of that paragraph Morgan Tsvangirai had to mince his words
thus: "If, as Mugabe says, no other option is available to resolve the
crisis, let us hope that he refrains from pushing the people to the wall and
force them to try out something else".

That Morgan Tsvangirai had to
use guarded language to express the hope that Mugabe "refrains from pushing
the people to the wall and force them to try out something else" may be sad
testimony that the Mugabe regime's use of the law to persecute its political
opponents has taken its toll: no more clarion calls for Mugabe to go
peacefully or else he will be removed violently; or calls for a "Final Push"
to get rid of the regime. In the struggle for a just and democratic society
in Zimbabwe currently, there is a glaring and lamentable dearth of inspired
leadership courage and resolve such as that displayed by Nelson Mandela in
his famous 1964 speech from the dock during the Revonia treason trial: "But
if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die"; or Fidel Castro
in 1953: "Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve
me".

Despite the Mugabe regime's perverse use of the law as an instrument
of terror and tyranny, there is a recognised right of a people to resort to
rebellion against tyranny and oppression. International law, political
morality and even Christian doctrine all recognise that the people have an
inalienable right to resort to rebellion against tyranny in certain
circumstances. It is hoped that this general exposition of the right to
resort to rebellion against tyranny with particular focus on the Zimbabwean
situation will fortify and inform the resolve of those in the forefront of
the struggle for political change even on the face of criminal charges of
treason.

That governments can become criminal governments is beyond
question - Hitler's Third Reich and Mugabe's Zanu PF, to name only two
examples, are cases in point. Governments can prosecute criminals, but when,
as in Zimbabwe currently, a government engages in criminal acts against its
own citizens, what recourse do its citizens have? What recourse, as a last
resort, do the people have against a regime that has effectively outlawed
all lawful and peaceful means of effective struggle against its
tyranny?

The issue of what recourse, as a last resort, is available to a
people oppressed by a tyrant exercised the minds of legal and political
philosophers for Centuries and led to the articulation of the notion that
human beings have certain natural rights which are inalienable; that the end
and design of civil government cannot be to deprive the people of their
liberty or take away their freedom, but, on the contrary, the true design of
civil government is to protect the people in the enjoyment of
liberty.

On that score, it followed that tyranny and arbitrary power are
utterly inconsistent with and subversive of the very end and design of civil
government. Consequently, the authority of a tyrant is of itself null and
void, for it is impossible that any individual, or even the greatest number
of people, can confer a right upon another of which they themselves are not
possessed; that is, no body of people can justly and lawfully authorise any
person to tyrannise over and oppress fellow-creatures.

It is
therefore recognised that once a government abuses the people it is supposed
to represent by adopting tyrannical and capricious rule, such government
forfeits its right to legitimately rule the people and the people have a
legitimate right, as a final recourse, to renounce all submission to its
rule and revolt against it.

The recognition and legitimation of the
people's right to resort to rebellion against tyranny is embodied in
international human rights instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, in the third
paragraph of the preamble, declares that it is essential that human rights
should be protected by the rule of law, "if man is not to be compelled to
have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and
oppression".

The African [Banjul] Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights
adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) in 1986, in
Article 20(2) and (3), confers colonized or oppressed people with the right
to "liberate themselves by resorting to any means recognised by the
international community". The Charter further enjoins State parties to it to
assist the oppressed in their liberation struggle.

It is therefore
plain that recourse to rebellion against oppression by a post-independence
regime like Mugabe's ZANU (PF) is, in the wording of the African Charter, a
"means recognised by the international community" as expressed in the third
preambular paragraph of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights confirms the universal recognition of
the right to resort to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, and its
status as a self-evident and inalienable human right that cannot be
transferred, waived, forfeited, usurped, or lost through failure to exercise
or assert it. There was therefore no need for Morgan Tsvangirai to disguise
his warning that Mugabe may force people to rebel against his oppressive
regime.

Consequently, it is generally accepted that the duty to submit to
just and lawful governance is founded upon the obligation to promote the
general good; and the same obligation to promote the general good obligates
the people to zealously oppose tyranny. No person can be a good member of
society who is not as zealous to oppose tyranny as he or she is ready to
obey lawful authority. As Reverend Samuel West in his 1776 sermon on the
right to rebel against governors asserted, a slavish submission to tyranny
is proof of a sordid and base mentality which is devoid of generous human
sentiments and tender regard for mankind.

While the act of rebellion
at times entail resorting to violent action, it is at times regarded as
morally legitimate to take violent action against a tyrant in a situation
where such violence can reasonably be expected to relieve much greater harm
and suffering than it causes.

The concept of human rights asserts an
entitlement on the part of the rights bearer and an obligation on the part
of society to incorporate that entitlement into its system of values and
laws. It is therefore imperative, as a future guarantee that Zimbabwe will
never be a tyranny again, that consideration be given to a constitutionally
entrenched right to have recourse to rebellion against tyranny and
oppression. Arguably, the tendency of governments towards tyranny and
oppression of their citizens cannot be kept in check unless governments have
some fear of the people's collective right, entrenched in the Constitution,
of recourse to rebellion against such tyranny and oppression.

The
entrenchment of such a right in the Constitution will not only incorporate a
right that is already recognised in international human rights instruments
such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter of
Human and Peoples' Rights, as all the other rights in the current
Constitution are, but will also have the crucial effect of countervailing
the State's institutional monopoly of force and violence. As one of the 17th
Century legal philosophers on the subject, John Locke, asserted, "this
doctrine of a power in the people of providing for their safety anew is the
best fence against rebellion" because a government that respects the
people's ability to form a new government is a government that understands
the limits of its own power.

The call for such a constitutional right in
Zimbabwe must not therefore be mistaken for a call for the entrenchment of
the Hobbesian state of nature, namely that of occasional war of all against
all. Instead, it is a right that can arguably be regulated in the same
manner that the right to resort to the use of force between states is
regulated under public international law.

In its hour of triumph, the
American Revolution of 1776 consecrated the right to rebel against tyranny
in the Declaration of Independence, in the following telling terms: "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness; That to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed; That whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or
abolish it and institute a new Government, laying its foundation on such
principles and organising its powers in such form as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness".

The French Revolution
of 1789 culminated in a Declaration of the Rights of Man that bequeathed the
right to rebel to future generations in equally forthright terms: "When the
government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for them the
most sacred of rights and the most imperative of duties".

It is worth
noting that those who resorted to rebellion against the oppression of the
Rhodesian colonial regime, in their hour of triumph, that is, the
negotiations that ended the hostilities and brought about the Lancaster
House constitution; failed to legitimise the right to resort to rebellion
against oppression by enshrining it in the constitution. It is hoped that
Zimbabweans will not repeat the same omission in their hour of triumph
against the ZANU (PF) regime. Never again should a regime have sole monopoly
of force and violence.Advocate Nkomo is a Zimbabwean lawyer based in
Canada

By
Tawanda HoveLast updated: 09/02/2005 00:43:27THE authoritarianism of
Zanu PF has once again held sway and will only accelerate Zimbabwe's race to
the bottom.

And what the MDC's solution is as said by the former MP
Themba Nyathi, "We trust regional leaders will take note of today's
developments and reconsider the merits of existing policy approaches towards
the Zimbabwe question."

How many times does the region have to fool you
to understand the message that they are trying to get into your obstinate
heads - it is only when there is a shift in the balance of forces in
Zimbabwe that the region and the international community will
act?

Regional solidarity is important so is international solidarity, but
remember Burma, remember Chile, remember China, remember Mauritania,
remember Pakistan, there are no democratic governments in these countries
yet the international community still engages them. There is need to shift
the balance of forces in Zimbabwe and then the international community will
act. We know what the Zanu PF government has been responsible for but we
must question the MDC's response to the constitutional debate in
Zimbabwe.

After the February 2000 NO Vote campaign, the MDC has always
made the constitutional reform agenda peripheral. They have failed to hold
or build a definitive national front with the NCA and other people who have
been arguing and saying that the constitution is what is fundamentally
wrong. Te MDC has argued that it is a political movement, their agenda was
clear, to capture state power and not to check it like the work of civil
society.

The argument that they are a political party and that the
business of the political party was to capture power has been turned on its
head by Zanu PF. Not only was this an empty and impoverished argument but it
reflected the weaknesses of the MDC, it fails to build tactical alliances
and despite many meetings with civic society, the MDC was arrogant and never
willing to be humble enough to mobilise around constitutional
reform.

Now they have been exposed and Zanu PF is playing yo-yo with them
and their response is to 'walk on the streets' with no people. This is the
biggest joke of Zimbabwean politics. Imagine this scene of an almost motley
crew of MPs marching on the streets of Harare with no following in your
territory. Surely no one is supposed to take them seriously. MPs who cannot
even mobilize their constituencies to either march with them or at least
stay home. What is the meaning of 'movement' then? A political movement is
distinguished by one and one thing only, and it is that is composed of a
mass of people and that there is motion, there is movement towards
somewhere. The opposition is behaving like a spoilt brat, this is Africa, it
s not Scandinavia where opinion is regarded highly. In Africa, social
transformation will only be guaranteed by mass pressure and mass political
action, they must know that unless the balance of forces has shifted then
they will remain in a stalemate, out of power and invite more intra-party
squabbles.

We now even hear that the Tsvangirai's home has now been
turned into another "Mereki' where praise singers and clueless people gather
to chant how its difficult to deal with Zanu PF. We will not turn to the
third force because it has already consumed itself by the type of
ethno-nationalists that it is rallying behind its motley cause but the MDC
must be reclaimed by the people.Hove writes from South Africa

STOCKHOLM (AFX) - Old Mutual PLC, the
London-listed insurer that is in talks to acquire Swedish counterpart
Skandia Insurance Co Ltd, has confirmed that it holds a stake in Zimbabwean
media group Zimbabwe Newspapers.

According to a report on Swedish radio
earlier today, Old Mutual's stake in the group, majority-owned by the
Zimbabwean government and seen as supportive of Robert Mugabe's regime, was
cited by some Skandia directors as a potential obstacle to the deal during
talks last weekend.

An Old Mutual spokeswoman said the company held a 19
pct stake in Zimbabwe Newspapers, equivalent to about 0.2 pct of assets
under management at its South African division.

'We have had
operations in Zimbabwe for 50 years and have very loyal customers there. We
feel we have a duty to support them,' she said.

The spokeswoman declined
to comment on Swedish radio reports that Old Mutual will launch a formal bid
for Skandia today or tomorrow.

'Discussions are continuing,' she
said.

On Monday, Old Mutual said it had outlined a proposed offer of 42
skr per share for Skandia during talks with the company and its
shareholders, valuing the Swedish insurer at about 43 bln skr (3.1 bln
stg).

It said an offer at that price, to be paid 40 pct in cash and 60
pct in shares, would be acceptable to mOld Mutual confirms ownership of
stake in Zimbabwean media group09.01.2005, 11:18 AM